Practice golf green including undulated area and thickened tapered cup receiving end portion

ABSTRACT

The disclosure describes a golf game for both indoor and outdoor use comprising a mat with a clipping tee and a driving tee thereon and an artificial golf green having a cup and flag, with indicia on the surface of the green marking off areas progressively further away from the cup, with values assigned to the green areas for evaluating golf shots to the green. The green includes an undulated area and a thickened tapered end portion including an integral molded cup of regulation size. The mat and green are separable so that the distance between them can be varied at will depending on the space available. The device can be used with either a practice ball or a regular golf ball.

United States-Patent inventor Joseph Elesh Skokie, Ill.

Appl. No. 809,540

Filed Mar. 24, 1969 Patented May 11, 1971 Assignee International Recreation Products, Inc.,

Skokie, Ill. 1

PRACTICE GOLF GREEN INCLUDING UNDULATED AREA AND TIIICKENED TAPERED CUP RECEIVING END PORTION 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figs.

[15. Cl 273/176R, 273/195A, 273/181R, 273/183A Int. Cl A631) 67/02 Field of Search 273/176, 195,183, 184, 185,181, 812,196

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,025,183 12/1935 Stayton et a1. 273/l 76(F) 3,107,920 10/1963 Strunk t. 273/195(A)X 3,501,152 3/1970 Conklin etal. 273/1' 76(F) Primary Examinen- George J. Marlo Attorney-Rummler and Snow ABSTRACT: The disclosure describes a golf game for both indoor and outdoor use comprising a mat with a clipping tee and a driving tee thereon and an artificial golf green having a cup and flag, with indicia on the surface of the green marking off areas progressively further away from the cup, with values assigned to the green areas for evaluating golf shots to the green. The green includes an undulated area and a thickened tapered end portion including an integral molded cup of regulation size. The mat and green are separable so that the distance between them can be varied at will depending on the space available. The device can be used with either a practice ball or a regular golf ball.

Patented May 11, 1971 3,578,333

4 INVENTOR. E 30 JOSEPH 51.5511

PRACTICE GOLF GREEN INCLUDING UNDULATED AREA AND THICKENED TAPERED CUP RECEIVING END PORTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The art provides a wide variety of golf games adapted for play indoors with synthetic grass or plastic mats and various forms of ramps, signals and ball-retum mechanisms associated with the cup. A difficulty with this kind of game is that the conditions of play do not approach actual conditions on the golf course and use of the game, though amusing and entertaining, does not contribute to the golfing proficiency of the player. Furthermore, the scoring of the games are related to chance rather than the accuracy of the shot and no means are provided to determine or measure the true difference between the poor, average and good golf shot. Also, the player has no means to measure or evaluate the consistency of his swing or the improvements in his golf game with continued practice. Aside from direction, practice on the parlor rug gives the serious golfer little practice or opportunity to increase his proficiency for actual play.

The instant invention is concerned with a golf game which can be used or played indoors or outdoors, can be used as a practice device to develop proficiency in the swing as applied to all types of golf shots such as putting, approach and drive shots and is characterized by being adaptable to measuring the accuracy of all types of golf shots, especially chipping and driving shots, and can be used as a serious golf practice aid or as a game. The man who takes his golfing seriously or the beginner who is concerned about improving his golf at a rate commensurate with his ability, requires a type of golf game which closely assimilates actual conditions on the course and allows complete freedom of motion so that the golf swing is totally utilized, yet may be used in a confined area such as the yard or recreation room.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention concerns an indoor-outdoor golf practice game including a tee adapted to provide both iron and wood shots and a simulated green having all the appearances'of a regulation green, with cup and flag, etc., and having indicia thereon at different distances from the cup to evaluate the proficiency of the golfer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the-invention is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the tee and green of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the use of the device by a golfer showing a good golf shot;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the use of the device by a golfer showing an average or poor golf shot; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, a specific embodiment of the invention is shown wherein FIG. I shows the tee mat 10 having a driving tee 12 comprising a short piece of a flexible tube mounted in a rubber base 14 affixed to the mat 10 by integral molding or by an adhesive. The driving tee 12 may be on one side of the mat l and about midway between the ends of the mat or be part of the brush mat. On the other side, the chipping tee 16 is similarly afi'rxed to the mat as by means of the base I8 which may be made of rubber or similar material like the base 14. The chipping tee or brush mat 16 comprises a plurality of closely spaced bristles 20 arranged like a brush so that the golf ball 22 rests thereon much like a cushion of grass so that an iron can be used to strike the ball.

Associated with the tee mat as a separate unit, for placement any desired distance therefrom, is the mat green 30 comprising a fiat piece of pliant material such as plastic, canvas or rubber, having sufficient body to lie flat on the ground or floor without wrinkling or blowing in the wind. The mat green 30 has simulated grass 32 thereon and may be in the form of a carpet of synthetic material such as an outdoor-indoor Ozite carpet. The cup 34 is an official size golf cup. Means are provided in the cup to hold the flag 36 bearing the pennant 38 with PAR 2 indicia thereon, as hereinafter described.

The green 30 is divided into scoring sections 01, 02 and 03, shown by means of the indicia 40, by means of the marker or border lines 42 and 44. The lines 42 and 44 may be slightly arcuate or straight lines and of a contrasting color, i.e., white or black, from the color of the simulated grass 32, which will be a shade of green. The cup 34 and the flag 36 are located at one end of the green with the first line 42 marking off a space or target area surrounding the cup 34. The section 02, adjacent to the first section, is slightly larger in area and further from the cup. The 03 section lies adjacent to the 02 section at the end of the green furtherest from the cup 34. The areas of the section 03 and 02 may be about the same or the section 03 may have anarea larger than the section 02. The green 30 can be circular, oval, elliptical or rectangular and measure about 4 to lO-feet wide and I0 to l6-feet long. Other dimensions of these parts can be used to accommodate different play areas.

Referring to FIG. 4, the green 30 is shown to comprise a uniformly flat portion 46, which extends over most of the section 02 and all of the section 01 of the green and the area 48 slightly inclined or gradually thickened from about the beginning of the section 02 to the end of the green 52. The bottom surface 50 of the mat 30 is shown as being made of rubber and is normally flat and the resilience of the mat aLl allows it to conform to any irregularities on the surface upon which it is placed. The tapered rubber under surface 50 is cemented to the lower side of the surface 30. This tapered or wedge shape of the end of the green gives sufficient body thereto to form or mold the cup 34 integral with the mat as. shown in FIG. 4. The cup 34 is molded or cut out to conform exactly with a regulation golf cup, namely 2-inches deep and 4 inches in diameter. The slope 48 is made very gradual so as to be hardly perceptible to the eye and has the advantage of simulating the surface conditions of an actual green, which is not in all instances level.

Contoured areas, either concave or convex, as indicated by the dotted circle 58, can be molded into the green-30 to simulate the uneven contours of an actual green. The line of demarcation 60 between theflat surface area 46 and the sloping area 48 need not be straight and can be irregular to further provide a natural unevenness of the green 30. Alternatively, the green 30 can be laid over solid objects to provide further contours. The contours 58 can be molded or formed into either the topside of the green 30 or into the bottom 50.

The cup 34 can be molded or formed so as to receive a regulation metal cup as presently used on golf courses. These cups may have an inner cup to hold the flagstaff. In this instance, its dimensions would be slightly larger to receive the metal cup and retain it by frictional engagement with the sides. The hole 52 being centered in the cup 34 serves to receive the bottom inner cup holding the end of the shaft.

The shots from the tee 10 are normally made using a plastic or sponge rubber practice ball. When such practice balls are used, the distance obtained is multiplied by a factor of about 10 to give the approximate distance that would have been obtained with a regulation golf ball. After a player makes his tee shot to the green, the practice ball is replaced with a regular golf ball for the putting shots to complete the hole. The tee 10 can be placed any desired distance from the green 30 depending on the available space. This distance should be from about 6 feet (indoors) to a minimum of 12 feet (outdoors), but may vary with any given area.

The section 01 is representative of a close-in or one-putt shot and a ball landing in section 01 counts as one point and the ball lies one or the same as one shot on the regular golf green. The section 02 is representative of an intermediate shot and a ball landing in section 02 counts as two points and the ball lies two. The section 03, being furtherest from the cup, represents a below average or poor shot and a ball landing in section 03 counts as three points and the ball lies three. In the event the player's first shot rolls off or misses the green, the player is penalized one point and must chip again from the brush mat 16. A hole-in-one counts one point.

The manner of play and scoring can be the choice of the player or players. The golf game can be played by an individual or two, three, four or more players. In one embodiment, as an illustration, four different colored plastic golf balls are used, to identify the players, as in a foursome. For indoor play, the tee l and the green 30 are placed so that the distance from the tee to the nearest edge of the green is at least a minimum of 6 feet. The first player puts his practice ball on the mat brush l6 and takes his approach shot with either of the three short irons, i.e., 07, 08 or 09, or a pitching wedge. After all of the players are on the green, the flag 36 is removed and the putting begins, as on a regular green. The players now replace the plastic ball with a regular golf ball for putting and follow the usual rules for putting. As in golf, the player with the lowest number of points (or strokes) wins the hole. The distance between the tee l0 and the green 30 can be varied with each play or round. Par for nine holes or rounds is 18 points and par for 18 rounds is 36 points. Tournament games can also be played. When using the device of this invention outdoors, the rubber driving tee 14 is used and the players use their wood clubs.

If woods are used and the shot fails to reach the green, it must be played again with a one stroke penalty. If the outdoor use of the game is played on grass, the player may chip the ball to the green, counting each stroke.

The mat l0 and the green 30 can be constructed of any strong, flexible synthetic or natural material which is fire resistant arid resistant to cutting, tearing, cracking and abrasion. These parts can be made of rubber, rubber coated fabric or a wide variety of synthetic plastics such as polyvinyl, particularly polyvinyl, sisal and cork compositions, polyethylene,

polybutylene, polystyrene, nylon, polyurethane and polymeric isocyanaes, that is those plastics which are readily formed into pliable sheets or laminates of the desired thickness. A number of organic or inorganic fillers can be used, as well as fabrics coated or laminated with plastics. Materials having a high strength-to-weight ratio, light weight and lowwater or no water absorption are preferred. Limited amounts of foaming or cellular structure can be incorporated during fabrication to give lightness of weight, good flexibility and sufficient softness to simulate on actual golf green.

The indicia 40 and the lines 44 can be incorporated into the fabric or plastic sheet as dyed or painted areas during or after molding. Any color combinations can be used and preferably the grass 32 is green and the indicia white.

It should now be apparent that the mat 10 may be placed anywhere distant from the green 30, directly ahead, or to any side, whereby the object of this invention is achieved.

I claim:

1. A portable outdoor-indoor golf green adapted for placement at desired distances from a tee from which golf shots are performed comprising:

a sheet of flexible material approximately the area of a golf green having a simulated grass textured surface,

pad means affixed edge to edge on the underside of said sheet having a tapering thickness greater than the remaining areas of said green,

said pad means having the front and thinner section beginning substantially medially of the ends of said green and with the larger and thicker section thereof terminating at one end of said green,

a cylindrical recess simulating a cup in the area of greater thickness of said green,

lineal indicia on said textured surface and spaced from said recess for evaluation of golf shots from said tee landing within the areas defined by said indicia,

a ragulation golf cup retained by said recess, and sar pad means including an area of concave and convex undulations. 

1. A portable outdoor-indoor golf green adapted for placement at desired distances from a tee from which golf shots are performed comprising: a sheet of flexible material approximately the area of a golf green having a simulated grass textured surface, pad means affixed edge to edge on the underside of said sheet having a tapering thickness greater than the remaining areas of said green, said pad means having the front and thinner section beginning substantially medially of the ends of said green and with the larger and thicker section thereof terminating at one end of said green, a cylindrical recess simulating a cup in the area of greater thickness of said green, lineal indicia on said textured surface and spaced from said recess for evaluation of golf shots from said tee landing within the areas defined by said indicia, a regulation golf cup retained by said recess, and said pad means including an area of concave and convex undulations. 